That said, let’s assume that your virtual assistant is a decent person with good intentions. Tracking your staff productivity and work hours is just good business and good management, especially at the beginning of your relationship.

Verification methods

There are a variety of ways you can monitor your VA. Don’t hesitate to check in with them periodically throughout the day with email, chat or video calls. Just ask them how they’re doing, if they need any help, and when they expect to be done with their assigned tasks.

You don’t want to micro manage (and that’s quite difficult to do long distance anyway) but keep in touch. It shows that you care and expect them to do their best. Even after they’ve worked for you a few months and you don’t need to talk daily anymore, it’s still a good idea to touch base in a weekly meeting.

Require daily reports

Set up a system for your VA to report on their work every day. It can be a spreadsheet or form to fill out, or a simple email. Whichever method you choose, work with your VA to make it a consistent habit.

Daily reports let you keep track of your VA’s work over time. You can easily see trends in their work habits and productivity.

If you see a decline you can ask them what’s going on and talk about any difficulties, they might be having. On the flip side, if you see that they’re taking less time to do their assigned work as they become accustomed to it, you can give them more to do. Perhaps it’s time to train them to pick up another area of your business.

Daily reports open avenues of communication.

Why not ask your virtual assistant for suggestions as to how they might improve your business or run things more efficiently? If they’re frontline customer communication staff, they might have some insights into what your customers want.

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